Half the people reated below 1400 (especially in blitz) say "develop and castle? Nah - I'm gonna mate the king.....wait, there's stuff in the way....kill it! kill it! Hmmm...not many pieces left...I shall push pawns toward their king!!...YES, I won on time - e4, Qh5 wins every time "

As an unfortunate intermediate, I have trouble calculating all of these freakish turn 3 mating attacks over the board....I'm off book, I'm facing a clearly weaker player, and I'm irritably thinking "Just play d4 so I can take the pawn, get an open Sicilian, and do the thing I came here to do!" ......and then I make a mistake, lose material, and come out of the opening with a hopeless disadvantage.

Between this and Melekhina's on beating people who trade all of the pieces for no reason, I may just be able to conceptually punch through the beginner's glass ceiling.

Great video, small mistake though. at 15:50, He said 3+3=6 and the rook worth 5 so It was a gain. But he missed the fact that the bishop took a pawn so it is actually 3+3=6 5+1=6. Therefore it was an equal exchange that worsened black's position because it ruined his 3 line of pawns.

Very relevant for entry-level players like me, who face this very often. Thanks for the crystal-clear explanation. I watched this video yesterday, and later that evening - not 30 minutes after I had watched it, actually! - a person played the 2. Qh5 attack against me in a live game here in Chess.com! I recalled the first sequence you propose, and defended correctly. The guy resigned a few moves afterwards. Thus, I am watching the video again today to refresh on the second sequence, too. Much appreciated, my friend!

nice, I remember using the scholars mate when i first learned chess, you should show the 2 move check mate for the beginners also, some thought it wasn't possible to mate in 2 moves, but its a funny one when it happens,lol all beginners should know it...

in my childhood iam played alot . i am the champian in my local club . then i stopped playing . because no opponent to play . they r bored by continuous fail . when i tried to play now . i cannot play . i cannot even memorise . in my child hood i can remember the position of my coins . now i feel very difficult to play . no i am loosing every game . when i see this video i remember something . thank u for ur video . now i am being interested in the game again . i said about 15 years back . at that time there is no coach & no internet . i played myself & by playing i developed my game a little . now training is available like this . thank u internet . thank u chess.com , thank u masters like u .

Thank you very much for the video! We need more like this--directed to the beginning and intermediate players who often find themselves losing before even getting out of the starting gate. These are wonderful ways to punish the early and eager Queen developers.

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Opening Traps for Beginners: Scholar's & Other f7 Tricks!

With his latest video lecture targeted towards beginner level players, FM Lilov reviews the common traps and tricks white might play for against the "Achilles Heel" of black's position. He reviews the Scholar's Mate (Four Move Checkmate) as well as other early tries to exploit the f7-square. He points out the importance of beginners being prepared for these ideas, as they are not normally given "official attention" in chess books. Beginners, enjoy!

Valeri feels fortunate to have learned to play chess from his father when he was only three, immediately becoming seriously engaged. By the age of seven he was able to play blindfold chess in several games at the same time. At the age of eight, he achieved a record-breaking ELO of 1985, and subsequently became the European Individual School Chess Champion U10 in Moscow, Russia. He has won over 30 medals in national and international competitions, and in 2008 achieved his highest rating of 2443 and in 2013, the title of International master.

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